Forensics Sci Finale Flashcards
Frye Standard
A scientific test, theory, or method to be considered valid, it must be widely accepted by experts in the specific field to which it pertains.
Daubert Standard
a method used by courts to determine whether or not expert testimony should be admissible at trial.
Class Evidence
Narrows evidence down to a group of persons or things, EX. Blood Type
Individual Evidence
Narrows evidence down to a single person or thing, EX. Fingerprints/DNA
First Officer On Scene
A-assess the crime scene
D-detain the witness
A-arrest the perpetrator
P-protect the crime scene
T-take notes/compile data
Medical Examiner (ME)
Investigates violent, sudden and unexpected, suspicious or unattended deaths.
Death Investigator
Responds to the scene of death for the purpose of performing an investigation into why the person died and collecting any evidence directly related to death.
Coroner
Make inquiry into the death and complete the certificate of death.
Types of evidence
blood, semen or saliva, Fibers, Paint chips, Glass, Soil and vegetation, Accelerates, Fingerprints, and Hair.
Rigor Mortis
Postmortem change resulting in the stiffening of the body muscles.
Livor Mortis
A passive process of blood accumulating within the blood vessels in the dependent parts of the body as a result of gravity, causing a discoloration of the skin that varies from pink to dark purplish.
Algor Mortis
The third stage of death, is the change in body temperature post mortem, until the ambient temperature is matched.
Characteristics that can be determined from hair microscopically
How the hair was released from the scalp, how the hair was typically cut, hair color, and ancestry.
With a hair root
Only Individual characteristic if nuclear DNA is available.
Without a hair root
Other characteristics would be considered class, including mtDNA.
Ways to lift fingerprints
Powders, Iodine, and super glue
NGI (next generation identification)
Provides a fast, accurate, and contactless biometric identification option for law enforcement and criminal justice users.
AFIT
Search unidentified latent fingerprints and palmprints which may be left on items of evidence or recovered at crime scenes.
structure of DNA
A double helix formed from two complementary strands of nucleotides held together by hydrogen bonds between G-C and A-T base pairs.
PCR method
Using short synthetic DNA fragments called primers to select a segment of the genome to be amplified, and then multiple rounds of DNA synthesis to amplify that segment.
nDNA
Forms the genes that are transcribed into mRNA and directs the order in which the amino acids will be placed in the synthesized polypeptides.
mtDNA
Useful to trace geographic distribution of genetic variation, for the investigation of expansions, migrations and other pattern of gene flow.
Toxicology lab
Drug tests, also referred to as tox screens, are conducted to verify the presence of illicit substances.
Anthropologist
Study the origin, development, and behavior of humans.
Entomologist
Focus specifically on the study of insects.
